1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to designing and fabricating objects that incorporate voltage switchable dielectric materials.
2. Description of Related Art
A printed circuit board, printed wiring board, integrated circuit (IC) package, or similar substrate (hereinafter, PCB) may be used to assemble and connect electronic components. A PCB typically includes a dielectric material and one or more conductive leads to provide electrical conductivity among various attached components, chips, and the like. In some cases, metallic leads may be included (e.g., as a layer of Cu which is subsequently etched) to provide electrical connectivity.
A typical PCB may be fabricated from reinforcements (e.g., glass fibers) that have been pre-impregnated with a matrix (e.g., a polymer resin). A matrix may be combined with (e.g. infiltrated into) the reinforcement while substantially liquid. Handling of the pre-impregnated material may be enhanced by subjecting the matrix to a partial cure (e.g., a B-stage cure) to at least partially solidify the matrix, which may at a later stage be fully cured to a C-stage. A PCB may be fabricated from one or more layers of pre-impregnated material.
A pre-impregnated material is often described as a “prepreg.” Prepreg is typically available as a sheet or roll of material, and may be characterized by specifications such as grain (associated with “length” in the roll direction) and fill (associated with “width” in the roll direction). Prepreg may be characterized by various other specifications, such as dimensions (e.g., uncured thickness, cured thickness, and the like), reinforcement material (e.g., glass fibers having a diameter), weave pattern (e.g., of the fibers), matrix composition (e.g., resin composition, % matrix, fillers, and the like), curing protocols, and the like. A type of prepreg may be characterized by a “style,” which may summarize one or many parameters describing the prepreg. A style may include a description of the reinforcement type (e.g., woven glass), strand size, weave configuration, density, and the like. Exemplary standard styles include 106, 1080, 2313, 2116, 7628, and the like.
PCB fabrication may include choosing one or more layers of prepreg, stacking the layers, and curing the stacked layers (often with pressure) to form a solid substrate. Vias and/or leads may be incorporated on and/or within a PCB. Prepreg often shrinks during curing, typically in a predictable fashion, and expected shrinkage may be incorporated into a PCB specification. Many prepreg materials are anisotropic, particularly with respect to dimensional changes (e.g., during curing). Dimensional changes may be different in the grain direction than in another direction (e.g., the fill direction).
Many prepreg materials are characterized with one or more specifications for “artwork compensation,” which may describe an expected shrinkage during curing. Specifications for artwork compensation are often sufficiently controlled and predictable that they may be incorporated into the PCB design. The artwork compensation specification for a PCB fabricated from a stack of prepregs may often be calculated from the individual prepreg specifications, orientations, and stacking order of the prepreg layers.
A substrate, particularly a thin substrate, may be warped, bent, or otherwise deformed by various processes. In some cases, a substrate may be inadvertently deformed during processing (e.g., during curing of a PCB). A substrate may be warped by external forces. A substrate may be warped by internal elastic forces (e.g., a thermal expansion mismatch between materials).
Viewed in cross-section (i.e., viewing parallel to the plane of a PCB), a PCB may be characterized by a centerline. Typical PCB stacks are designed to be mechanically “balanced” with respect to the centerline, such that forces (e.g., induced during curing and/or cooling from high temperature) above the centerline are cancelled or otherwise opposed by equivalent forces below the centerline. For example, a prepreg layer with a first grain orientation and a first distance above the centerline may be balanced by an equivalent layer having the same grain orientation located the same distance below the centerline. Balancing is often achieved by creating a symmetrical prepreg stack with respect to the centerline. In some cases, the centerline may represent a line of mirror symmetry (at least with respect to mechanical and/or thermal properties), with layers above the centerline being balanced by corresponding “mirror” layers below the centerline.
Various electrical and electronic components may benefit from surge protection, such as protection against electrostatic discharge (ESD) and other electrical events. ESD protection may include incorporating a voltage switchable dielectric material (VSDM). A VSDM may behave as an insulator at a low voltage, and a conductor at a higher voltage. A VSDM may be characterized by a so-called “switching voltage” between these states of low and high conductivity. A VSDM may provide a shunt to ground that protects a circuit and/or component against voltages above the switching voltage by allowing currents at these voltages to pass to ground through the VSDM, rather than through the device being protected.
Many VSDM materials are polymer-based, and may include filled polymers. Processing a VSDM layer on a PCB may cause warping, which may be undesirable. Controlling dimensional changes (e.g., maintaining planarity) may improve the processing of devices incorporating a VSDM, and particularly a layer of VSDM on a thin substrate (whose dimensions may be altered by stress in the VSDM).
FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrate an exemplary unbalanced substrate (e.g., an unbalanced PCB). An unbalanced PCB 100 may be characterized by a centerline 110. A first portion 120 of the PCB (above centerline 120) may not be balanced by a corresponding second portion 130 of the PCB (below centerline 110). In some cases, imbalance may not be manifest until subsequent processing (e.g., curing the PCB and/or cooling from a curing temperature above room temperature). In the example shown in FIG. 1B, PCB 102 has been processed. In processed PCB 102, first portion 122 may have a higher shrinkage (e.g., during curing or cooling) than second portion 132, resulting in warpage of the processed PCB 102.
Voltage switchable dielectric materials may have thermal, elastic, plastic, viscous, and other properties that are different than those of typical prepreg layers. Incorporating a VSDM into a prepreg stack may result in an unbalanced substrate. During various processing steps, imbalance in a substrate may be manifest as loss of dimensional control (e.g., warpage of a PCB).